Bunion-protector.



Q. E. PACKARD.

BUNION PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEl, 1912.

1,054,934, Patented 'Mar. 4, 1913.

W/T/YESSE C(ILUMKIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

QUINCY E. PACKARD, F MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

BUNION-PROTECTOR.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, QUINCY EDWARD PACKARD, ofthe city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bunion- Protectors; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same.

This invention relates particularly to protectors formed ofsubstantially rigid material and which conform to the contour of theswelled great toe joint and are held in place between the boot and footof the wearer.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide abunion-protector which can be accurately positioned and positively heldin place while the wearers foot is being inserted into the boot andfurthermore is firmly maintained in proper position by the act offastening the boot or shoe.

A further object is to so form the protector as to permit it to veryreadily adjust itself snugly on the enlarged joint and to follow themovement of the wearers foot while walking, etc, without buckling andstill maintain the rigidity of the protector.

For full comprehension, however, of my invention reference must be hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar reference characters indicate the same parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the bunion pro-- tector applied, the footbeing shown in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a view of the underside .of thefoot with the protector in place; Fig.

3 is an enlarged bottom View of the protector; and Fig. 4 is a similarview illustrating the longitudinal collapsing of the protector.

The protector consists of a 'concavo-convex shell of substantially rigidmaterial and adapted to clasp the side of the foot, covering theenlarged joint of the great toe and protecting the same from the boot orshoe of the wearer.

Referring now to the drawings Z2 indicates the portion of the shellwhich is adapted to fit over the swelled joint and is provided with acentral aperture 0 to accommodate the latter, the aperture beingsurrounded Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 1, 1912.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

Serial No. 701,025.

on the inside of the shell with padding d. The shell is ventilated byperforations e.

Extending from the upper part of the portion 6 is a preferably integrallateral extension f which, when the protector is in place, lies flatover the top of the foot and extends to approximately the longitudinalcenter line of the latter.

As seen in the drawings a portion 9 of the protector is located beneaththe foot and in the preferred embodiment of my invention there is asubstantially V-shaped piece cut away near the middle of this bottomportion, forming a transverse cut it, the corners of which are roundedoff. The inner end of the cut It may approach close to the centralaperture of the protector. By means of this transverse cut the protectoris permitted to collapse longitudinally without buckling so as to snuglyfollow the contour of the swelled joint and move with the foot as inwalking, the cut it taking up the movement of the protector andobviating the buckling effect and the consequent discomfort to thewearer. While the rounded corners of the cut it facilitate thecollapsing of the protector it is to be understood that it is notnecessary that they should be so formed.

As I prefer to form the protector the top extension f lies diagonallyfrom the portion 6 of the shell to a point over the instep of thewearers foot, at which point the said extension can be readily takenhold of to adjust the position of the protector and also to maintainsuch position while the boot is being placed on the foot. "When on thefoot, the boot firmly holds the extension and thereby secures theprotector in place, the act of fastening the boot binding the exten sionand further securing the protector.

The edges of the protector are skived to avoid any discomfort to thewearer and to facilitate the overlapping of the bottom portions of theshell when the latter collapses.

WVhat I claim is as follows:

A bunion protector consisting of a substantially rigid single pieceshell formed with a central opening and shaped to clasp the side of thefoot and curve over the top of the latter, the bot-tom of such shell eX-tending beneath the foot and having a transverse V-shaped cut-awayportion eX- tending and tapering to a point close to but separated fromthe central aperture, and the curved over portion of the shell having anarrow offset extension extending diagonally rearward across the instepto the longitudinal center line of the foot.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

QUINCY E. PACKARD.

Vitnesses OWEN N. EVANS, JAMES O. GRASEIL Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,Washington, I). G."

